Tuskegee Airmen

Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no African American had ever been a United States military pilot. The Jim Crow laws, a series of racist laws that enforced the “separate but equal” treatment of African Americans, were used as justification for blocking previous attempts by African American soldiers to become pilots.

During WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with destroying 261 enemy planes, doing damage to 148 other opposing aircraft, flying 15,553 combat sorties and 1,578 missions in the theatres of North Africa and Italy. Sixty-six of the airmen were killed in combat and another 32 were shot down and became prisoners of war. In escorting over 200 bombing missions, the Airmen never lost an American bomber to an enemy fighter. So feared by the German pilots were the Airmen, that they were referred to as the “Schwartze Vogelmenschen” (Black Birdmen)

Please add profiles to the project and any other references you would like.

I got to meet two Tuskegee Airmen who were on a trip to Israel with my group in 2002. One was named John I believe and the other called himself "Smitty". I wish I could recall their full names.

Collaborators welcomed! Please Request to be added if you would like to join the project.

~ Jamey

A list of those who served:

• Brig. Gen. Noel F. Parrish (needed: Locate or create a Geni profile for him)
• http://www.redtail.org/portraits-of-tuskegee-airmen-luther-smith/ needs profile Obituary

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Sources:

Photo from the Tuskegee University, AL

• Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
• History of the Tuskegee Airmen
• Tuskegee Airmen American Heroes
• Tuskegee Airmen Encyclopedia of Alabama
• Tuskegee, Alabama
• Legacy of Fame-Tuskegee Airmen
• Tuskegee Airman Names, Units, Pilots List and Statistics Jan J. Safarik: Air Aces Home Page
• http://www.militarian.com/threads/tuskegee-airman-mr-luther-smith.4...